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The Development of Radio Broadcasting in Nigeria

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The Development of Radio Broadcasting in Nigeria z Ic, THE DEVELOPMENT OF RADIO BROADCASTING IN NIGERIA, WEST AFRICA THESIS Presented to the Graduate Council of the North Texas State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS By Jonathan Adegoke Adejunmobi, B.A. 11 Denton, Texas December, 1974 Adejunmobi, Jonathan A., The Development of Radio Broad- casting in Nigeria, West Africa. Master of Arts (Speech Communication and Drama), December, 1974, 108 pp., 2 tables, bibliography, 70 titles. The purpose of this study is to set forth the history of radio in Nigeria. Chapters explore the history of Nigeria, the history of Nigerian radio, and the present structure of Nigerian radio. In a final chapter, specific historical factors are isolated that have made Nigerian radio what it is today. The study concludes that the present structure of Nigerian radio is a direct product of the peculiar history of Nigeria as a former British Colony. Little can be done to solve the problems of Nigerian radio unless the problems of Nigeria it- self are first solved. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES . Chapter I. INTRODUCTION. 1 Background The Problem Purpose Procedure and Related Studies Definition of Terms Format II. A BRIEF HISTORY OF NIGERIA. 13 Geography and People of Nigeria Colonial Nigeria: Amalgamation Antagonism and the Rise of Nigerian Political Parties Three Constitutions and the Path to Independence Independent Nigeria III. ORIGIN AND GROWTH OF BROADCASTING IN NIGERIA. .40 Prebroadcasting Electronic Media Nigerian Broadcasting Service Crisis and Change Regional Broadcasting Systems Summary IV. STRUCTURE OF BORADCASTING IN NIGERIA. 62 Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation The Regional/State System V. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS . 87 BIBLIOGRAPHY . .103 iii LIST OF TABLES Table Page I. A Typical Broadcast Day of the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation, Friday, January 16, 1970 0.. ............ 71 II. A Typical Broadcast Day of Western Regional Government Broadcasting Corporation, Friday, January 16, 1970 . 80 iv CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Background A former Governor General of the Belgium Congo once speculated that many African nations would not have been created without the intervention of European countries as colonial masters.1 The British Colonial era in Nigeria (1900-1960) seems to confirm that speculation. The Royal Institute of International Affairs (R.I.I.A.) succinctly stated the relationship between British Colonial activities and the existence of Nigeria: "Nigeria is a British creation; before 1900 there was no such entity; attracted inland by humanitarian reasons, the early explorers found much of the country a chaos of warring tribes.??2 Just as Britain created the nation of Nigeria, it also laid the foundations for one of Nigeria's most important institutions, its system of radio broadcasting. Without Bri- tain, Nigeria would probably not have the broadcasting system that it has today. The history of Nigeria cannot be separated from that of its system of communications. Britain colonized Nigeria for three reasons: economic, political, and humanitarian. As to the first reason, economic, Britain wanted to begin trade with 1 2 Nigeria. Lord Austen Chamberlain, British Foreign Secretary (1924-1929), believed that the beginning of communication in African colonies was an essential Imperial responsibility. Chamberlain further believed communication could be the means of unlocking rich African regions that could benefit humanity as a whole, but that were misued by the "backward" African natives.3 The second reason for colonization was political. Bri- tain wanted to protect its Nigerian holdings from invasion by other European countries. A. P. Thornton, professor of history at University College of the West Indies, wrote that many reasons determined the actions of all imperial nations, but the most important of these was "power." 4 Finally, the eagerness of Britain to civilize Nigeria helped to lay the foundation of Nigerian broadcasting. Bri- tain provided Nigeria with its first telegraph lines in 1895 to facilitate the construction of the railway between Lagos, the capital of Nigeria, and Abeokuta, another city in Ni- geria.5 Building on both the telecommunication facilities pro- vided by Britain and the broadcasting system that Britain later helped to build, Nigeria has emerged today as a devel- oping nation., with a broadcasting corporation staffed wholly by natives. Thus, Nigeria owes its present system of broad- casting, as well as its very existence, to the intervention of the British. 3 The Problem There have been very few studies done in the field of broadcasting in Africa. Prior to the present study, there has been no study of Nigerian radio broadcasting. Leonard Doob, a psychologist interested in international communica- tion, noted, "Materials on communication in Africa are lamentably scarce, for not until recently has the rubric be- come sufficiently fashionable to encourage research and report."?6 Yet, it is in these very African countries where broadcasting research is needed. They are striving to over- come tribal differences and to achieve a sense of national unity. Essential to the achievement of such unity is a modern national system of communication. And radio broad- casting is a keystone in any developing country's communica- tion system. Wilbur Schramm and G. F. Winfield wrote, If a nation, rather than an advanced society, is to be built, then the necessary knowledge of public affairs, the concept of national loyalty, and empathy for fellow citizens must be communicated. Furthermore, if a nation is to play a significant part internationally, communi- cation must weave the new state to other states, and the necessary understanding of international events and relationships must be communicated to the people. Thus, it is clear that national development involves serious and significant communication problems.7 T. W. Chalmers, an Englishman and first Director General of the Nigerian Broadcasting Service (NBS), wanted to fashion the NBS after the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).8 And indeed the NBS, later renamed the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), was originally set up as a single national service, and as a means of resolving vast ethnic and tribal differences in Nigeria. Contrary to Chalmers' expectations, however, eight years after the NBS was set up, it was partiw tioned into three additional regional services, each serving different tribal and ethnic cultures that are contained in each of the three regions. The problem, then, consists of a series of questions con- cerning the structure of Nigerian radio broadcasting. What were the reasons the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation devi- ated from the pattern of the BBC? Why did the development of the broadcasting system in Nigeria become suddenly a regional and, hence, and ethnic affair, instead of a federal, national institution of unity? How did the partitioning of the broadcasting service begin? And why were the regions able to succeed in effecting the partition? In order to answer these questions, the history of Nigerian broadcasting will have to be examined. Additionally, because the nation of Nigeria played a large part in the structure of its broad- casting service, the colonial and the postcolonial histories of Nigeria will also be examined. Only in this way can the social, political, economic, and cultural factors that in- fluenced the development and structure of Nigerian radio broadcasting be brought forth. 5 Purpose The purpose of this study is three-fold. First, the study explores the history of Nigerian telecommunications, paying particular attention to the history of Nigerian broad- casting. Second, the study describes the structure and nature of the Nigerian radio broadcasting. Third, the study isolates and explores the factors that contributed to the present structure of Nigerian radio broadcasting. Procedure and Related Studies The procedure for this study took the form of historical research. Primary sources, accumulated with the cooperation of personnel in the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation, were utilized for the majority of the study. Secondary materials were used for background to put facts into perspective. Little research has been published on broadcasting in Africa. The present study is apparently the first compre- hensive documented history of radio in Nigeria. Leonard Doob wrote in Communications in Africa, "One must be grateful for the smallest bits of information." 9 The only research found to have even remote bearing on the proposed study is that of Geoffrey Zednek Kucera whose 1968 dissertation was titled Broadcasting in Africa: Study of Belgium, British and French Policies.1 0 The study explored in depth the policies of the three colonial powers in the continent of Africa. Nigeria and other African countries were used as examples of the 6 British colonial policy of monopoly. Kucera paid particular attention to the colonial policies in the Belgium Congo. Another dissertation on African broadcasting was com- pleted in 1968 by Peter Orlik, who later updated his work to early 1970. It is titled,.The South African Broadcasting Corporation: An Historical Survey and Contemporary Analysis.1 1 The study pointed out the need of South Africa to inaugurate a television broadcasting service. It provided insights not only into the political climate of South Africa but, more importantly, into the way in which television is perceived as a vehicle for political change. Orlik's study does not duplicate or relate to the present study, but it is signi- ficant because it is one of the few research studies that has been done in the field of broadcasting in Africa. Apart from the two research studies mentioned above, three other reports are found to be of significance to the present study. First, Ian K. Mackay, the last foreign Director General of the Nigerian Broadcasting Coporation, analyzed in European Broadcasting Union Review1 2 the "Concepts of Nigerian Broad- casting." The five-paged article described briefly the functions of the NBC in the Nigerian community. Mackay, Director General at the time the article was published in 1963, described the origin, the pattern and trend, and the future aspirations of the NBC.
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